Long Ravine Trestle

Long Ravine Trestle
Long Ravine Trestle spans Interstate 80 in the Sierra Nevada
Coordinates39°07′25″N 120°56′24″W / 39.1235°N 120.9401°W / 39.1235; -120.9401
CarriesRoseville Subdivision
CrossesLong Ravine, I-80
LocaleColfax, California
OwnerUnion Pacific Railroad
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks2
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
History
Constructed bySouthern Pacific Railroad
Rebuilt1890, 1912/1913
Location
Map

Long Ravine Trestle is a pair of deck plate girder railway bridges near Colfax, California.[1] They carry the Union Pacific Railroad Roseville Subdivision over Long Ravine and Interstate 80, traversing the Sierra Nevada. The original crossing was a three-span Howe truss bridge with wooden trestle approaches, constructed as part of the first transcontinental railroad.[2] The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad was subsequently constructed under the bridge between 1875 and 1876.[3] The trestle portions of the bridge were replaced with embankments by this time.[4] The original wooden trestle was replaced with an iron structure in 1890.[5] Southern Pacific double tracked the line and constructed the two modern bridges, completed in 1912 and 1913,[6] to carry the rails. The southern span was retrofitted in the late 1958 to allow for the new U.S. Route 40 freeway to be routed underneath.[6] The bridge is predominantly used for freight trains, but is utilized by the daily Amtrak California Zephyr.

  1. ^ "UP - Long Ravine Trestle". BridgeHunter. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  2. ^ Bianculli 2001, p. 65
  3. ^ Sommers & Staab 2018, p. 24
  4. ^ Sommers & Staab 2018, p. 24–25
  5. ^ Sommers & Staab 2018, p. 96
  6. ^ a b "California Log of Bridges on State Highways (District 3)" (PDF) (Report). California Department of Transportation. October 2018. p. 26. Retrieved February 16, 2024.